Weiss Asset Management LP Purchases New Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,614 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,147,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.5 %

NSC traded down $3.93 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $256.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,445,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,239,934. The firm has a market cap of $58.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $258.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $243.10.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. Norfolk Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.